The Blessings of the Lord

As I was out in my garden the other morning, the Lord brought something to mind that I hadn't given an awful lot of thought to before. Oh, I'm sure I've heard it said in my childhood and probably in my adulthood too, but for some reason, it didn't really sink in like it should have. It was so simple that I wondered why I hadn't really considered it.

Our beans have been very bountiful this year. It seems that each bush I come to is so full that I'm there for several minutes before I can move on to the next. I marveled at how, just one small seed, can produce such a bounty and I was praising the Lord for his favor and blessings to us this year. It was then that He spoke to my heart... if one bean seed can produce this many beans, what would happen if you were more diligent by putting greater effort into planting just one seed for Me? My mind immediately turned to ways that I could be a better witness and I darted a prayer to heaven for God's help.

Because of my many flaws, I often feel inadequate to be a tool that He can use. However, the Lord has reminded me that He is the Carpenter and He knows just how to use each of His tools to get the best results. I must put myself in His hands and let Him guide me, instead of trying to be the one in control all the time. I am called to plant, He will do the rest!

"Thine is the seedtime; God alone
Beholds the end of what is sown;
Beyond our vision, weak and dim,
The harvesttime is hid with Him;
Yet unforgotten where it lies,
The seed of generous sacrifice,
Though seeming on the desert cast,
Shall rise with bloom and fruit at last."
~Our High Calling- E.G. White

During our family devotions this morning the Lord confirmed the point even more. We've been reading out of a book called "My Life Today", another publication by E.G. White. She states:

"If you can exert a saving influence over one soul, remember there is joy in heaven over the one that repented. . . . You may, by judicious effort, be the means of bringing back the lost sheep to Jesus' fold...
If your example is Christlike, that alone, if you do not say a word, will be a help to many. Patient continuance in well-doing will help others to place their feet in the path of truth and righteousness. . . Be careful to start right, and then keep quietly on.
The firm purposes you may possess in carrying out good principles will have an influence to balance souls in the right direction. There is no limit to the good you may do. If you make the Word of God the rule of your life, and govern your actions by its precepts, making all your purposes and exertions in the fulfilling of your duty a blessing..."